Childers, the winningest energetic crew chief within the Cup Collection, signed a multi-year contract to steer Spire’s No. 7 Chevrolet group and driver Corey LaJoie beginning in 2025.
The 48-year-old former driver at present serves as crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 Ford group with driver Josh Berry. SHR is closing its four-car operation on the finish of the season and final week the Wooden Brothers employed Berry to take over its No. 21 Ford starting subsequent 12 months.
Ryan Sparks, who at present serves in a twin position as each Spire’s competitors director and crew chief for LaJoie, will proceed in its position as competitors director after this season.
“There are selections that skilled racing groups make every day that take braveness, require deep thought, and have some factor of rolling the cube. To be clear, this wasn’t one in all them,” mentioned group co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
“Rodney is a hall-of-fame worthy, championship-winning crew chief with 40 wins. He is among the greatest within the storage and when a man like Rodney is offered, it will be malpractice if we did something however our best possible to convey him into our rising group.
“He’ll make us higher the second he walks into our store, and we look ahead to his contributions to our collective success.”
Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro
Photograph by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
Childers, 48, led Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup championship of their first season paired collectively at SHR. Previous to the over three dozen victories with Harvick, Childers additionally gained with drivers David Reutimann and Brian Vickers.
Childers led Harvick to eight playoff appearances over 10 seasons together with 5 journeys (three consecutive) to the Championship 4 between 2014-2019.
“I feel the largest factor is seeing how Spire Motorsports has grown over the past couple of years,” mentioned Childers. “They’re investing in folks, and that’s what makes a distinction today. All of us purchase the identical chassis, our bodies and components. What makes a distinction is the folks.
“Spire continues to put money into the folks throughout the group and they search out good folks so as to add depth to an already robust group. Corey is a veteran of the game and I feel we’ve an incredible alternative in entrance of us.
“Spire has been on my radar for the previous 12 months. I had fairly just a few guys from the No. 4 group go over there they usually maintain telling me how a lot they get pleasure from it, what the tradition is like and the way properly all people will get alongside. That began it from my facet.”
Sparks, a local of Winston-Salem, N.C., has been paired with LaJoie since 2020. The 2 have earned three top-five and 6 top-10 finishes, together with a fourth-place end on this 12 months’s Daytona 500.
“Our motto has been brick-by-brick for the final 4 years and that is one other key element to constructing larger levels of success,” mentioned Sparks. “When you’ve the chance to usher in a championship-caliber crew chief like Rodney Childers, you must capitalize.
“That is an unimaginable alternative for the corporate and the underside line is we’re all on this to place Spire Motorsports first.”
